Government ‘not ruling out’ Covid vaccines for children aged 5 and up

The Government has not ruled out a move to vaccinate children as young as 5 years old with parental consent although said a decision was not imminent. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said vaccination experts were still reviewing the evidence on what level of protection a coronavirus vaccine would give those aged under 12, and that a decision would await their verdict. Asked whether there were plans to vaccinate primary school children, Mr Zahawi told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There is no plan at the moment to vaccinate primary school children for the reason that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is still looking at the evidence as to what level of protection it would offer.”